Are there particular native plants that are especially important for wildlife?

Yes! Particular native plant species – core species, such as oaks (Quercus species) – create what Professor Douglas Tallamy terms “foraging hubs.” These hubs are key sources of food for wildlife. For example, foraging hubs are made of 5% of local native plant genera (Quercus, for example) that support 73% of the local butterfly species. When the caterpillars are eaten, they supply essential protein, lipids and carotenoids to other insects and animals in the food web. (Birds, for instance, need carotenoids for immune system support, anti-oxidant protection for DNA, attractiveness for mating, improved color vision, and sexual vitality. Carotenoids are only made by plants, so birds have to eat things that eat plants – caterpillars! – to obtain the carotenoids birds need. And most species of caterpillars can eat ONLY native plants, so…) Foraging hubs exist everywhere across the world. To help support biodiversity in our gardens, we need to plant foraging hubs of native plants.